Virtualization Frontier

Enabling Onboard iSCSI Adapter on Dell PowerEdge R805

ToddMuirhead — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 21:15:00 GMT

A [thread started here|http://www.delltechcenter.com/thread/1670169/iSCSI+Enabled+NICs] on delltechcenter.com lead me to do some investigation into an "iSCSI Ready" feature of the onboard Broadcom 5708 NICs on the PowerEdge R805. Turns out that the Broadcom 5708 or NetExtreme II NIC has the capability to be a TCIP/IP offload engine (TOE) which is a fairly well known thing. It also can be a hardware based iSCSI adapter with some iSCSI offload capability as well - which is the "iSCSI Ready" feature. It is also possible to use this to boot from iSCSI as it is hardware based.

I had a really hard time finding the any documentation about how to configure and enable the iSCSI Ready feature, so I put together a really cool wiki page that has few screen-shots and some basic guidance. Additionally, I did a quick performance test to see if it did indeed reduce CPU utilization. I found that a small reduction with my test workload and posted a screen-shot of that as well.

Todd

Bumping Into It on VMTN

ToddMuirhead — Tue, 20 May 2008 19:31:00 GMT

I just ran into a thread on VMTN that is exactly what we are hosting a chat on later today. The VMTN thread is titled Physical Hardware Recommendation, but I am calling the same topic Selecting a Virtualization Server. Very coincidental that this thread was started today and it even specifically asks about 2950s and R900s. So for the record - this VMTN thread was not a planted thread by me or some secret Dell conspiracy. I do have to confess that it was Scott that spotted this thread first and he deserves the credit (Again!).

Todd

The Best Server for You

ToddMuirhead — Mon, 19 May 2008 12:20:00 GMT

For the past three weeks, we at the Dell TechCenter have been focused on the decoder ring for systems management. Starting today we are going to tell you what the best server is for virtualization. The reason it is going to take three weeks is that the answer for everybody is different. So we are going to talk about key factors, advantages of one type of server over another, and learn from the decisions and thought processes of each other. We are simply hosting the conversation and I do not have a "favorite server" -- although I must admit that I used to lean heavily towards 2-socket servers.

The decision for most seems to come down to 2-socket, 4-socket, or blades servers. I hope that we end up expanding the conversation and talk about lots of other possibilities including storage options, hypervisor options, and who knows what else.

In order to get things going are going to have some chat sessions, there is a topic home page, and a server selection matrix page to specifically lay out the facts about each type of server. I've started the page off with 2-socket, 4-socket, and blades as server categories with some basic tech specs and advantages for each type. This page will grow as additional pros, cons, and others ideas come up.

Todd

VMmark Results Point to Best Performance

ToddMuirhead — Thu, 15 May 2008 20:25:00 GMT

New VMmark benchmark results highlight that the best performance for a single server is a 4-socket (or 16 cores with Quad-Core processors). This means that the R900 and R905 are at the top of the list, with the Intel based R900 slightly ahead of the AMD based R905. So if you absolutely need the most performance possible from a single server - then this is the way to go.

A little bit of analysis could lead you to believe that the 2-socket (or 8 core) servers are actually better performing. The VMmark score for the 4-socket R900 is 14.23 with 10 tiles, but the VMark score for the 2-socket 2950 III is 8.47 with 6 tiles. So on a per socket basis, the two-socket 2950 III is actually providing more performance. The same holds true for the two-socket M600 blade and two-socket R805 2U server.

There is much more to choosing a server than the results of a single benchmark, but I think that these results are fair barometers of performance. In general performance does not scale in a linear fashion when moving from 2-socket servers to 4-socket servers, and this seems to hold true with virtualization.

Todd

Decisions Decisions Decisions

ToddMuirhead — Fri, 09 May 2008 21:33:00 GMT

With the release of the 2U, 2-socket R805 and the 4U, 4-socket R905 (both AMD based servers) and the already existing 4U, 4-socket R900 (Intel based server) now is a really good time to be looking for a server to run your virtualization farm on. All three are excellent choices and could be the right server. To determine which one depends on lots of things. I'm looking for reasons to choose one over the other (let me know your thoughts). We will be putting together some information to help people decide here on TechCenter and hosting some chat sessions to enable discussion.

Specifically, I ran across this article from The Register that I think has a pretty good take on the R805/R905 Virtualization announcement from a couple of days ago. They point out all of the server options as well as the virtualizaiton services that were a part of the announcement on Tues.

Todd